1. Not Caring

In William Kade's opinion, his new town was freezing, humid, and ugly.

It was also small, small enough that he could see where it began and ended just from his new bedroom's window. To be fair, though, he lived on a cliff, and his bedroom's window was in the turret.

Eh. Semantics. They didn't matter much to him, not since he had bigger problems to worry about.

His stupid dad. Just had to go and get himself tossed into jail, didn't he? Now Will was stuck at this stupid one-horse town where the only thing that looked even remotely cool was the crashing, angry waves down below.

The house itself was perched on the very edge of the cliff, and leaned over the ocean like an old, crooked lady. Much like his grandmother, Will thought, before she'd kicked the bucket. In that very ocean, on that very beach.

Huh. Small world.

Will had taken to skipping rocks in the murky water, even though they usually just jumped once or twice before slamming into a cresting wave and disappearing. His mother said that the weather got better, during the summer, but Will had no plans on lasting that long. It was already fall, and he had to start at the only high school in this tiny town that didn't even have anything beyond a clinic.

For animals.

Will looked up to the house and the staircase cut into the stone that led down to the beach where Will sat, on a half-submerged rock halfway out into the water. He'd known the tide was coming in when he sat down.

He didn't care.

Dipping his hand into the water, he watched as a tiny crab scrabbled for purchase beneath the translucent waves. It hooked one claw into the seaweed, finally stopping itself from being swept away.

"Too bad," Will muttered, reaching below the freezing water and grabbing the seaweed, then lifting it and shaking it. The crab fell to the water, surrendering to the current again.

Will sighed and spread out his legs on the rock. It was large enough to fit at least three people, which was convenient because Will didn't plan to have more than three people on it.

Me, Myself, and I.

Will smiled faintly at the thought and lay back, folding his arms beneath his head and peering up at the stormy gray sky. It wasn't that it was raining; the clouds always looked like that. Will's mother swore that the town wasn't bad, but it was another one of those things that Will didn't care about.

He didn't care about a lot of things, these days. Like sleeping, or pleasing his mother. He never cared about that.

Sighing and dragging a hand through his dark hair streaked with bright blue--courtesy of a friend back home--and glanced back at the shore. It was getting father and farther away, but the rock was big enough that the water wouldn't come over the edge. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself and sighed.

"William!"

Will focused on where his mother stood. He hadn't seen her. He rolled his eyes and turned back to looking out over the stormy blue ocean with white-crested waves.

"William, come back!"

Will huffed out an annoyed breath and stood up, turning around and crossing his arms. "It seems that there's a little space in between me and the shore, Jessica," he called.

His mother huffed, wrapping her arms around herself to combat the wind. "William...I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

"I thought I told you to stop bothering me," Will muttered, low enough that his voice was lost to the wind. Will lifted his chin and motioned at the expanse of water between him and the shore. "Too cold."

"You'll live."

Will arched a brow. "I'm not swimming."

Jessica's eyes lit up with the familiar spark of challenge Will had grown to hate. "Why? Scared?"

"No," Will said. "I'm smart."

"I think that's just an excuse," Jessica said, tilting her head so her dark hair shot with gray that Will had gotten from her fell over her shoulder and got tossed in the wind.

Will rolled his eyes and bent down to untie his boots, then tied the laces together and threw them around his neck so they wouldn't get wet, then slid into the icy water with a suppressed gasp.

"Meet you at the house," Will's mother called, already walking up the stairs, knowing that once Will was in, he was going all the way.

She knew him too well for him only being in this hellhole for only a few days.

Will sighed and kept wading toward the shore, shivering slightly.

~ ~ ~

"No."

"William..."

Will shook his head. "I already got off my rock for you. NO."

"You were going to freeze," Jessica insisted. "I saved your life."

"You did not," Will responded, slightly bored, as he started up the stairs to his bedroom. "Besides, I've already seen most of the town anyways."

"Really? When?"

"Every day. From my window."

Jessica rolled her eyes and fisted her hands on her hips. "William Greyson Kade, you will come with me."

"Nah," Will said, flipping his hood up and sticking his earbuds in his ears.

"I'll change the WiFi password."

"You do that."

Jessica threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "I thought that was supposed to work on teenagers!"

"Most teenagers have never seen a book in their life," Will called, pushing open the door to his room. "I, however, happen to like reading. And sitting doing nothing."

He could almost feel his mother's frustration, but flopped onto his creaky four-poster bed and closed his eyes, spreading out on his bed and letting his music envelope him. He'd taken a liking to Twenty-one Pilots, and they'd been his favorite band for a while now.

"'Cause all we are is an isle of flightless birds, we find our worth in giving birth and stuff..."

Will's earbud was jerked out of his ear, and his eyes flew open. Jessica stood over his, scowling.

"You aren't getting out of it this time," she said. "Will. Come on. For me?"

Will glared at her and grabbed for his earbud. "Jessica!"

"William," she sighed, pulling it out of reach.

"Fine. If I call you my mother, then can I stay here?"

"No. You need to register at your new school."

"Jessica!"

"Mom. Come on; it won't kill you to say it."

"Why does it matter? It's your name, anyways. Besides," Will said, sitting up and grabbing his earbud back--finally. "Why do I have to be there?"

"Because it's your school," Jessica insisted. "Please, Will? Isn't it nice to have a fresh start?"

Will sighed and fell back onto his pillows. "I'll think about it."

Jess arched a brow. "No. You make a decision now--except you don't get to make the decision. Get up. Now."

Will glared at her. "Fifty dollars."

Jess blinked, taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"I'll go if you give me fifty dollars. Cash."

Jess narrowed her eyes, then sighed and reached for her wallet, only for Will to hold it up and pull out two twenties and a ten, then handing it back to her and standing, ignoring her aghast face.

"That was in my back pocket!"

"And then it was in my hand. Now, do you want to get there, or no? Either way works, as I have fifty dollars more than when this conversation started."

Jess's lips tightened. "Did you learn to steal from your father?"

"No," Will said, no expression on his face or in his voice. "I picked it up on my own."

Jess pinched the bride of her nose. "I don't even... we'll have to fix that," she muttered, looking up again. "I'll drive."

Will shrugged, flipping up his hood again but leaving one earbud out so he could still hear her, then walked to the stairs and slid down the railing, getting to the car thirty second before she did, kicking his booted feet onto the dashboard and crossing his arms.

Jess slid into the driver's seat, sighing and swatting at his feet. "Honestly, you'd think you were raised by barbarians."

"Just one," Will corrected, earning a rare smile from his mother.

"New school, here we come," Jess said, smiling at him as they pulled out of the long driveway.

"Wonderful," Will muttered. "Just a couple hundred kids walking in circles, being judged."

"It's not that bad," Jess said, sounding strained. "Just give it a try?"

Will's only response was a scowl.

- - - - - - - -

Hey! Hope you liked it, since I'm putting a lot of work into this. Please comment and vote! Means a lot!

Also, I'm gonna be doing this question/answer thing I saw somewhere.

Question for you: What's your favorite color?

Answer from me: Blue and red. They're the best combo.